$3 million highest offer for old Central Middle School in Quincy

Edgewood Development Co. of Plainville submitted the highest of five offers Thursday when Mayor Thomas Koch accepted bids to buy the former Central Middle School building at 1012 Hancock St. and turn it into residential units. The old school, which closed last fall when the new Central opened in Wollaston, was built in 1894.

QUINCY – A Plainville company is the top bidder for the old Central Middle School building, offering $3 million to buy the property and turn it into a 39-unit condominium complex.

Edgewood Development Co. submitted the highest of five offers Thursday when Mayor Thomas Koch accepted bids for the former middle school at 1012 Hancock St. The old school, which closed last fall when the new Central opened in Wollaston, was built in 1894.

A special committee appointed by the mayor will review each proposal and select a winner based on price offers and development plans for the property, which also includes 85,378 square feet of land.

All five bidders are proposing new residential units on the old Central property, with one company looking to create affordable housing and another interested in ground-floor retail and restaurant space. Two firms want to maintain the existing building, two want to maintain just the exterior and one wants to tear it down completely.

The property is in a Residential B zoning district, meaning it can only be used for low-density, multifamily developments. However, city officials have said the zoning designation could be changed to allow for more units.

The second-highest bid came from the team of Urban Edge Housing Corp. 1542 of Roxbury and South Shore Star of Weymouth, which offered $2.4 million.

Quincy shipyard developer Jay Cashman and Conroy Development are behind 1022 Hancock Street. Cashman owns 26 acres at the former Fore River shipyard, and last month one of his subsidiaries offered the MBTA $1.1 million to buy 12 more acres of land and water rights at the shipyard.

The old Central Middle School was constructed in the late 19th century as Quincy’s first high school, and was converted to a junior high in the 1920s. In the 1980s, a steel beam was installed as a temporary measure to stabilize the school’s roof. The brick building is 59,490 square feet in size.

Last October, the city opened its new Central building at the corner of Hancock and St. Ann’s Road. The new facility cost $32 million to build. Land purchases, site engineering and other related costs brought the total to about $50 million.

Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.